Current affairs - Afghanistan
As I write this (early on the morning of Monday 16th August, 2021) the Afghan government is on the brink of falling to the Taliban. This after twenty years of the forces of many countries, under the UN umbrella, attempting to support a democratic government in that country. I will not pretend to have any insights about what can be done. As a supporter of Scottish independence I support the right of any country to chose what path it wants to follow - but there are limits to anything and allowing a brutal, despotic regime to gain power is one such exception. The swift advance of the Taliban over recent days would suggest that this organisation has the support of the Afghan people - but it is more likely that such a violent and oppressive force is winning this fight simply because it has the guns - and is willing to use them. The US troops had the guns and, along with the UK and other countries, had kept the Taliban battened down hard - not totally but sufficiently so to restrict the area...